Srinagar, Dec 9: High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against an alleged drug peddler citing the sample portion and report to the accused have not been furnished.
Justice Sindhu Sharma quashed the criminal proceedings against a pharmacist initiated under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, holding that mandatory safeguards prescribed under the statute have been violated by the authorities while taking action against the pharmacist.
Petitioners have assailed the complaint filed by the Assessing Authority against them for alleging commission of offences under Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and also the order dated 26.03.2018, passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate concerned, whereby cognizance in the complaint has been taken and process has been issued against the petitioners.
The fact of the case is that the Assessing Authority, Commercial Taxes Check Post, Lakhanpur, on the basis of information received, withheld a drug consignment on 12.04.2017. The respondents seized 17,600 capsules of the drug namely SPASMO-PROXYVON PLUS were seized, which were kept in a briefcase found during the search of a truck.
This consignment was recovered from the truck and the petitioners failed to furnish the desired details and information i.e. name, address and particulars of the person from whom they had acquired these drugs.
The court said the proceedings are bad in law as a portion of the sample and a copy of the Government Analyst’s report to the accused have been violated. The court observed that such non-compliance renders the entire trial proceedings bad in law.
The court also added that the Magistrate had no jurisdiction to try the complaint. After the statutory amendment 2009, offences under the relevant chapter is tri-able only by the Court of Sessions.
“the prosecution failed to supply a portion of the seized drug sample to the petitioner, nor was any copy of the FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) report furnished, as required by Section 23(4) and Section 25(2) of the Act. Neither the sample nor the report has ever been provided to the petitioners”, read the judgment.
The court concluded that the cognizance of the complaint taken is an abuse of process of law and the entire proceedings are bad in law and require to be quashed. “Accordingly, the complaint and all consequential criminal processes under the Act, issued by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kathua, were quashed”, reads the judgment.
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